In 1994, twenty-year-old Gunjan Saxena boards a train to Mysore to
appear for the selection process of the fourth Short Service Commission
(for women) pilot course. Seventy-four weeks of back-breaking training
later, she passes out of the Air Force Academy in Dundigal as Pilot
Officer Gunjan Saxena. On 3 May 1999, local shepherds report a Pakistani
intrusion in Kargil. By mid-May, thousands of Indian troops are engaged
in fierce mountain warfare with the aim to flush out the intruders. The
Indian Air Force launches Operation Safed Sagar, with all its pilots at
its disposal. While female pilots are yet to be employed in a war zone,
they are called in for medical evacuation, dropping of supplies and
reconnaissance. This is the time for Saxena to prove her mettle. From
airdropping vital supplies to Indian troops in the Dras and Batalik
regions and casualty evacuation from the midst of the ongoing battle, to
meticulously informing her seniors of enemy positions and even narrowly
escaping a Pakistani rocket missile during one of her sorties, Saxena
fearlessly discharges her duties, earning herself the moniker 'The
Kargil Girl.' This is her inspiring story, in her words.